Discovery at Seventeen
by ElegantButler
Summary: Bryce Lynch receives a remarkable gift from a mysterious stranger on his seventeenth birthday. The question is... why?
1. Chapter 1

Max Headroom/Doctor Who Discovery at Seventeen

by Axel Ingleson

Disclaimer: Max Headroom and Doctor Who belong to their respective owners and creators. I am merely borrowing them and their friends for the duration of this fanfic. Thank you.

-Chapter One: The Gift-

Bryce Lynch's seventeenth birthday had been a very quiet one. He'd had a small celebration courtesy of Blank Reg and Dominique at Big Time which Edison and Theora had taken him to. Reg had long since forgiven the trouble Bryce had gotten him into during the zipping incident. To show there were no hard feelings,  
he'd given Bryce a rare old book. Bryce, who understood how important such things were to Reg, smiled..

"Thanks, Reg," he told the old Blank as he accepted it graciously.

"Reg," Dominique coughed around a freshly lit cigarette. "Don't forget the other gift."

"Right," Reg said, reaching for the top of the small refrigerator and taking down a small cylindrical package.

Bryce opened it in curiosity. It had to be some kind of tool judging by the weight and shape.

"What is it?" Edison asked as Bryce finished removing the wrapping paper.

It was silver with a small blue light on one end which was currently unlit. There seemed to be some kind of chamber just below the light, but Edison couldn't see it clearly enough to guess what it might be used to hold.

"A man I met a few days ago asked me to deliver it to Bryce on his seventeenth birthday," Reg told him. "He said Bryce would understand how it works."

"I've never seen anything like it," Bryce admitted. "But it seems simple enough to understand."

"Bryce, the universe is simple to you," Theora pointed out.

"True," Bryce agreed, cheerfully.

"Except woomen, perhaps?" Edison suggested.

"Oh, I don't usually spend much time with women," Bryce admitted.

"I'm sure we could fix you up with..." Theora began, but Dominique cut her off.

"I think he's got somebody else in mind," the Blank woman told Theora, casting a glance in Edison's direction.

"Edison's too old," Theora whispered, concernedly. "Should we really let Bryce get his heart broken when Edison tells him so?"

"Yes." Dominique told her. "It'll be good for him. Best that it happen amongst friends. It's all part of growing up."

In time, Edison decided it was getting late.

"It's almost ten thirty," he said. "Bryce has work in the morning as do Theora and myself."

"Thanks, again, Reg. Dom," Bryce told them. "I'd stay a bit longer, but these two won't be able to function if they don't get some sleep."

Reg gave a chuckle and saw the trio to the door of the pink bus.

Edison hadn't been driving more than two blocks when the car's engine sputtered and ground to a halt.

"You have got to be kidding me," he said, kicking the car as soon as he saw what was under the hood. Gritting his teeth, he began to work furiously on the broken part of the engine.

Bryce got out of the car and joined Edison.

"Get back in the car, Bryce," Edison scolded. "It's not safe out here. I'm not going to have the last hour of your seventeenth birthday be the last moment of your life."

Bryce took out the object Reg had given him. Or rather, that a mysterious stranger had asked Reg to give him. He pointed it at the bit of engine that Edison had been struggling with and slid the switch that was imbedded in the handle.

Edison rolled his eyes. There was no way that was going to do the trick. Bryce hadn't even touched anything with whatever it was he was waving about.

"Should work now," Bryce said, re-pocketing the device and getting back into the car."

As it was still Bryce's birthday, Edison decided to humor him. He got into the car and turned the key. To his amazement, the car started, the motor purring even more smoothly than it had before.

He drove back to Network 23 while Bryce sat silently in the back, looking out the window and wondering where the man was who had given him the remarkable gift.


	2. Chapter 2

Max Headroom/Doctor Who Discovery at Seventeen

by Axel Ingleson

Disclaimer: Max Headroom and Doctor Who belong to their respective owners and creators. I am merely borrowing them and their friends for the duration of this fanfic. Thank you.

A/N: This takes place during a time when the Doctor was still traveling with the Ponds. Some of the Doctor's companions (Like the Ponds, Sarah Jane Smith, and Peri Brown) are like a good book. Extremely hard to put down.

-Chapter Two: An Unexpected Ability-

"Doctor," Rory wanted to know, "why did you give a perfect stranger one of your screwdrivers? You never offered one to me or Amy. So why..."

"You don't know how to use one," The Doctor said, simply..

"Well, you could just give us an instruction manual," Rory pointed out. "And how do you expect this boy you left it for to understand it? I mean you didn't even give it to him directly. You had some other guy pass it on."

"So what's next?" Amy asked, as she joined her husband and the Doctor.

"Yeah," Rory inquired. "We're done here, right. Gave some kid a birthday present and now we're on our way, right?"

"Wrong!" the Doctor declared. "There's something else we must do first."

"I can't..." River Song said, trudging into view. She was wearing an outfit that blended in with those of the people they had viewed in the area called the Fringes. At her hip, under her duster, was a gun holster. It was empty. The Doctor was eyeing it with disapproval.

"Doctor?" Amy asked.

"River, you know it's going to be okay. It has to be done."

"You don't need to convince me..." River exclaimed. "I know in my heart..."

"This isn't to convince you, " the Doctor said. "It's to convince him. You've watched him just as I have. You know he won't believe anything like we're about to tell him without empirical data."

"I know, Sweetie," River said. "I just wish there was an easier way. What if you're wrong? He was close to death before and nothing happened."

"Close isn't close enough, you know that, River," the Doctor told her, urgency in his voice. "He has to know. He has to be ready. There are things coming here that I won't be here to protect these people from. He's their only chance. But he'll only be prepared to deal with it if he knows the full truth about himself. I'm sorry. I know this is hard. But it must be done."

"Why me?" River asked. "No... I already know why. I'm already in prison for a non-existent murder. So doing it again won't change anything. Just the same, I think this whole idea stinks."

"Whoa..." Amy said. "You're going to kill somebody? Doctor, I'm shocked! You can't do this..."

"It has to be done," the Doctor said. In anticipation of Amy and Rory's attempts to stop him, he activated a switch on the TARDIS console. The couple suddenly froze in mid-stride. Turning from the console, he took River Song by the hands and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry," he whispered, pressing a gun into her hand. "There's no other way."

"I know," River whispered, accepting the weapon with a look of regret on her face. Tears ran down her cheeks as she holstered the gun and left the TARDIS.

Once she had arrived at Network 23, River pulled her cell phone from her pocket. She opened it and selected the number for Bryce's lab, which she and the Doctor had found earlier that day. "I'm sorry," she whispered as she waited for Bryce to pick up.

"Hello?" Bryce asked. "Who is this?"

"I need to speak to you immediately," River told him. "It's vital that we talk right away."

"About what?"

"I'd rather not say over the phone," River told him. "Please... It'll just be a moment."

"I can't let you in," Bryce said. Then added. "I'll come down there. Hang on."

Bryce didn't know why, but he felt that he could trust this woman. There was something about her he found almost comfortingly familiar. He stepped onto the lift and descended to the parking level. Stepping off the lift, he walked through the car park and walked out onto the sidewalk.

"Bryce," River said.

"Yes," Bryce replied. "How can I..."

That's when River Song pulled the trigger.

Edison Carter had just returned from a report with Martinez when they saw the shooting.

"NO!" Edison screamed. "Martinez get down there!"

"Damn," Martinez said. "And just after his seventeenth birthday. That's horrib... Edison, look!"

A soft glow was emanating from Bryce's apparently lifeless body. It radiated out like an explosion in slow motion. Then it receded.

To Edison's amazement and relief, Bryce stood up. At least Edison thought it was Bryce. There was still a great deal of similarity to the body that had lain there a moment before. But the hair was longer, down to slightly longer than his neckline, and he seemed to have aged to about nineteen.  
"I'm sorry," River told Bryce as the helicopter landed.

"You shot me!" Bryce exclaimed. "Why?"

River holstered her gun. "It was the only way we could think of to prove what I'm about to tell you," she explained.

"Which is?"

"You're my son," the Doctor said, joining them from around a corner.

"Our son," River added.

"But..."

"What do you remember before ACS?" the Doctor asked.

"Well... I..." Bryce frowned. His facility for recall had always been excellent. But now that he'd been asked, he realized he had no memory of before his years at the academy.

"We had to suppress your memories of the TARDIS and your early years," the Doctor explained. "But we needed to reawaken you to the truth."

"That I'm some lunatic's son?" Bryce asked, sarcastically.

"That you're a Time Lord," River Song explained.


	3. Chapter 3

Max Headroom/Doctor Who Discovery at Seventeen

by Axel Ingleson

Disclaimer: Max Headroom and Doctor Who belong to their respective owners and creators. I am merely borrowing them and their friends for the duration of this fanfic. Thank you.

A/N: This takes place during a time when the Doctor was still traveling with the Ponds. Some of the Doctor's companions (Like the Ponds, Sarah Jane Smith, and Peri Brown) are like a good book. Extremely hard to put down.

-Chapter Three: New Time Lord - New Companion

"Time Lord," Edison asked. "What does that mean?"

"Follow me," the Doctor commanded, in a voice that brooked no arguments. As they headed back to where he had parked the TARDIS, he continued speaking.

"It means Network 23 is going to have to find a new head of R&D." the Doctor told them. "At least for full-time work. Bryce here will be able to communicate with you from time to time, but..."

"Don't I get a say in this matter?" Bryce asked, keeping stride with the Doctor and River Song.

"Yes," the Doctor told him. "You get to pick your traveling companion. Oh, and I recommend somebody with street smarts. That'll offset your technical knowledge. Very useful combination. I usually select a female companion, personally." he added as they entered the TARDIS, "But either sex tends to work out.. Though I find the men tend to be a bit whinier."

"Oh, come on..." Rory began.

"And there's the proof," the Doctor cheerfully announced.

Bryce paused at the threshold of the TARDIS, then stepped back outside.

Edison started to follow, but the Doctor put a hand on his shoulder. "He'll be back in a moment. Just the traditional walk-around. Everybody does it."

Bryce was considering the size of the TARDIS interior as he circled the outside, and so wasn't paying attention to what was directly in front of him. Which was Paula.

"Sorry, love," she apologized as they both stood up. She noticed that Bryce seemed to be appraising her. "What is it?"

"I was told that my traveling companion should have street smarts. That certainly fits you, if I'm not mistaken. And I rarely am."

"Oh?" Paula smiled. "And where are we going?"

"Wherever this takes us," Bryce told her, taking her hand before she could argue and leading her back into the TARDIS.

"Well done," the Doctor exclaimed. "Ten seconds out of the TARDIS and you've already found your fellow traveler. Well done, indeed. Now, Bryce, if you open that door over there..." he pointed to a lighter blue door in the left-hand corner.

Bryce opened the door and found himself looking into a duplicate of the console room.

"Your TARDIS," the Doctor explained. "When this ol' gal heard my son was on his way, she decided you needed your own. Once you're ready, just hit the blue button on the console and your TARDIS will detach from mine and be on her way." 


End file.
